Chapter 39 Chapter 39 (Updated on June 28th) You are...

Jingang County.

The night shrouds the river beach. On the undulating hillside, there is a very secret guesthouse.

Behind the bar on the first floor, a pretty cashier girl was leaning on a recliner with her legs crossed, dozing off while watching "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

The young man knocked on the glass window and pushed over a hundred-dollar bill.

"Is there a phone number? I'll take care of you tonight, okay?"

"Okay, okay, okay!" The little sister's eyes lit up. She tugged at the long wire that was dragging on the ground and lifted the phone inside. "You can use it as long as you want!"

Gong Xie leaned against the wall, clamped the microphone at the base of his neck, and dialed a number with his index finger raised.

After a beep, a woman's anxious voice came from the receiver, "A Xie, is that you?"

"Mom, it's me." Gong Xie lowered his voice, his eyes following his little sister's movements. "I threw away my cell phone and now I'm in Tianjin Port! I heard from a friend last night... they've found out about me, and I can't go back to Jiangtan for a while... Is Dad very angry? Can you send me some money?"

Wei Manli didn't say anything, but soft sobs came from the receiver.

"Mom, five hundred thousand, is that okay? And Qi Hang—"

"Son, I'm sorry!" Wei Manli took a long breath, "It's Mom who hurt you—"

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

The person on the other end of the phone said, "I'll find a way. You must hide well!"

Suddenly, a light flashed outside the guesthouse. Gong Xie felt uneasy and looked around.

However, the light outside quickly swept past, and the beautiful girl behind the bar was completely unaware of it. She was even wiping her tears at Aunt Guoer on TV.

Gong Xie breathed a sigh of relief and said in a low voice, "I wanted to sell the Red Dragon myself. What does it have to do with you... Hurry up and transfer the money to me. I'm hanging up now."

He put down the phone, picked it up and was about to hand it to the cashier girl when he suddenly heard a loud noise.

“——Boom!”

The door of the guesthouse was kicked open from the outside, and Tang Ci and Cui Bin rushed in with a dozen fully armed policemen, carrying police weapons.

"Ahhhhhh!" Gong Xie was startled and subconsciously ran away with his head in his hands.

The little girl who was leisurely watching TV series just now suddenly stood up, pressed her hands on the counter table, and jumped out from it like a sliding shovel.

At the same time, he took out a pair of silver handcuffs from his pocket.

Before Gong Xie could react, the handcuffs had clicked and were hung on his frail wrist.

"You—" Gong Xie felt like he was about to pee his pants, "You're not the cashier girl!"

Comrade Ji Yinhe giggled, took off his wig, took out his ID, and raised his little head proudly.

"Of course not, I'm a genuine police officer!"

Gong Xie: “…”

Tang Ci breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Ji Yinhe successfully capture the man. He turned to Cui Bin, who was standing next to him with his hands in his pockets, and said, "Old Cui, don't use my people like this next time!"

"What are you afraid of? He doesn't have any weapons!" Cui Bin patted Tang Ci's shoulder. "I think Comrade Xiao Ji is having a lot of fun! Old Tang, you're just too rigid. You follow the rules for everything. You're wasting such a good talent like Xiao Ji!"

"..." Unable to refute, Tang Ci gestured to Xiao Wu Cheng Mo, "Go, search Gong Xie's body! Teacher Lu——"

"I'll go to the room upstairs." Lu Zheng carried the appraisal box upstairs quietly.

Ji Yinhe came over triumphantly, not forgetting to take out the big bill and confiscate it, "Captain Tang, he just gave me a hundred yuan."

Tang Ci nodded, "I'll leave it with you first. I'll report to Director Rao later and see if I can use the money to have a meal at your house... Damn!"

He lowered his head and stared at his feet in anger. Gong Xie, who had crawled over and hugged his calves at some point, suddenly had a fit!

He rolled his eyes, foamed at the mouth, and lay trembling on the ground, with a pool of yellow liquid flowing from under his legs.

"Handsome, handsome guy!" Gong Xie rolled his eyes at Tang Ci and stretched out his hand tremblingly, "Give me some, give me some!"

Tang Ci had dealt with so many suspects before, but this was his first time encountering a situation like this. He raised his foot with a look of disgust, attempting to pull his calf out of Gong Xie's embrace, but unfortunately, he failed.

"Hey! Look how this was done!" Cui Bin watched the excitement for a long time before he happily took out a syringe and sucked a little urine from the ground.

The team watched him operate in amazement.

"Okay, we can send him back for a urine test!" Cui Bin clapped his hands proudly and directed his subordinates to carry Gong Xie into the car.

On the way back to the Municipal Bureau, Ji Yinhe couldn't help but whisper to Xiao Wu.

"Captain Cui may not look impressive, but he's incredibly capable. I never thought he'd predicted Gong Xie's escape direction long ago, and even arranged for me to pretend to be a cashier. We caught him in just three hours—"

"Of course!" Xiao Wu glanced at Tang Ci, who was driving in front, and said in a low voice, "Captain Cui is from the Provincial Department's Anti-Drug Brigade. Compared to us... he must be more experienced!"

"Ah... Provincial Department..." Comrade Xiao Ji held his chin, his big eyes blinking, and his tone was full of beautiful yearning for the superior unit.

Cheng Mo, who was sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly asked, "Xiao Ji, do you want to go to the provincial department?"

"Yes!" Ji Yinhe never concealed his true thoughts. "I will definitely go if I have the chance!"

"Good, you have ambition!" Cheng Mo glanced at Tang Ci silently, "Young man, keep working hard and move forward!"

With lofty ambitions and encouragement from Brother Cheng, the ambitious Comrade Xiao Ji decided to stay and work overtime tonight and interrogate Gong Xie with Team 3.

Cui Bin's interrogation style was brutal and fierce. Compared with Captain Tang's "gentle and gentle" style, Captain Cui chose to use a loud voice to intimidate. Captain Tang blew his beard, glared at him, slammed the table and smashed the teacup.

Comrade Xiao Ji felt a different kind of "violent aesthetics" amidst the waves of noise that almost gave him a heart attack.

Gong Xie, who had been spoiled since childhood, had never suffered such hardship. In addition, he had just been injected with a sedative by medical staff, so he quickly confessed to the crime tremblingly.

"...My friend led me to do this. I didn't want to do it at first. And that day at the Pegasus Skating Rink, it was my supervisor who told me to run away." Gong Xie cried, "I know I was wrong. I'm willing to give them all away... Can we discuss the sentence?"

"Then we have to arrest your superiors and subordinates first, and then the procuratorate will consider sentencing based on your performance." Cui Bin took a sip of water and waved to Ji Yinhe with a friendly face. "I'm done here, and the murder case is left to you."

"—murder?" Gong Xie raised his head in disbelief. "Who died?"

"Don't you know who died? You're just playing dumb!" Cui Bin slammed the table. "Is it you? Huh? Did you kill Qi Hang, the guy who was delivering the goods for you?"

The interrogation room fell into a long silence.

After a long moment, Gong Xie asked in a voice so soft it was barely audible, "...Are you trying to scare me? Am I having a nightmare? Why did Qi Hang die?"

Cui Bin narrowed his eyes, Ji Yinhe took a deep breath and frowned.

Gong Xie was probably frightened by the news.

His face was pale, his eyes were unfocused, his neck was shaking, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat... It didn't look like he was acting at all.

Did he really not know that Qi Hang was dead? Was there someone else who murdered him?

But now every clue points to Gong Xie!

Ji Yinhe asked softly, "When was the last time you saw Qi Hang?"

"..." Gong Xie's already large eyes turned almost blood red. "Last Monday, I received a message from my subordinate, asking me to go to a designated location to collect the money and goods, and then inform Qi Hang that he would deliver the porcelain goods on Wednesday."

Ji Yinhe asked, "So, you met at Jinghu Villa last Monday night, and then you told him to drive the Jetta to deliver the goods on Wednesday, and you haven't contacted him since then, right?"

"I tried to contact him... He didn't have a cell phone, so I paged him, but he ignored me. I drove to Feixun and Rongshu Lane, and even to the small park where we had our first engagement, but I couldn't find him."

"Aren't you worried that a living person has disappeared?"

"Their driver is often busy and I can't contact him." Gong Xie said blankly, "We had a conflict the last time we met. He has mysophobia and he doesn't like my bad breath. I thought he didn't want to help me transport the goods anymore..."

Ji Yinhe slowly rubbed his brows. "Who came up with the idea of ​​integrating the red dragon into the porcelain? Was it someone online?"

"Ah, it's Lin Fei."

Cui Bin and Ji Yinhe both opened their eyes wide.

Unexpectedly, when the case was halfway through, a new character popped up.

"Lin Fei is my ex-girlfriend..." Gong Xie said weakly, "She ran away too, a long time ago. Maybe she also dislikes me..."

He waved his limp hands with difficulty and couldn't utter a word.

Cui Bin asked his men to take Gong Xie to the detention room to rest, while he led Ji Yinhe, who was still stunned by Gong Xie's private life of being promiscuous with both men and women, straight to the director's office upstairs.

As expected, Rao didn't leave.

He, Lu Zheng and Tang Ci listened to most of the confession together and were discussing the next steps.

"Now a new person, Lin Fei, has been implicated. Given Gong Xie's current state, it's difficult to proceed with further inquiries." Rao took a deep breath. "I'm afraid if we're not careful, we'll be reported to the provincial government again."

"Director Rao." Lu Zheng gave a reassuring smile, "I'm here."

Rao nodded, his eyes swept across the crowd and stopped at Ji Yinhe's face, who had come back to his senses. "Little Ji, do you have anything to say?"

"Today, when Gong Xie was on the phone with his mother, I heard something like 'I'm sorry' or 'Mom hurt you,'" Ji Yinhe pondered. "I was a little far away, but Gong Xie's reaction was very surprising. So, I think there's a very real possibility—that Wei Manli did something wrong to her son, like having Qi Hang murdered. This is the stumbling block that's preventing her son from living a good life."

Everyone was silent, thinking about her reasoning. Although Cui Bin had always heard that Ji Yinhe's intuition was amazingly accurate, this was the first time he saw her thinking so unconventionally, and his face was full of confusion.

"...Is this possible? The current clues have nothing to do with Weimanliko!"

But Lu Zheng and Tang Ci both looked at Ji Yinhe calmly - "It's very likely." "Are we going to act now?"

"Well, thankfully, the timing of our arrest today was clever. We didn't interrupt Gong Xie's conversation with his mother, so we shouldn't have aroused their suspicion." Rao Zhenghao tapped the table calmly and forcefully with his knuckles. "I think we should strike while the iron is hot and head straight to Jinghu Villa!"

*

At three o'clock in the morning, Jinghu Villa was plunged into quiet darkness. Among the dozen or so villas, only one was brightly lit.

The door to the living room was wide open, and Gong Chenggong, Wei Manli and Gong He were sitting side by side on the sofa.

A group of serious-looking policemen stood opposite.

"...What?" Wei Manli chanted "Amitabha" and stood up in disbelief. "You arrested my son? And he's taking drugs?"

"Yes." Tang Ci said steadily.

Gong Chenggong and Gong He both raised their brows in disbelief.

"Wei Manli looked extremely frightened and frantically pulled her husband's sleeve, "No, my son is just a little naughty and would never make such a big mistake! Husband, say something! Think of a way, yes, call someone you know in the province--"

However, Gong Chenggong did not move.

His gaze slowly rose and fell on Ji Yinhe, who was in plain clothes.

This was the second time he had seen this little girl since he had glanced at her at Chenggong Ceramics yesterday morning.

Gong Chenggong finally understood why he felt she looked familiar.

"You are...Ji Jianguo's daughter?"

"I am." Ji Yinhe admitted frankly, and then explained to the colleagues behind him, "My father used to drive for Mr. Gong, but that was twenty years ago."

"...How's Old Ji doing now?" Gong Chenggong raised his finger and pushed the frame of his glasses, a gentle expression on his face. "Did he mention me?"

"..." Ji Yinhe was a little confused, "My dad is fine and has never mentioned you."

After Gong succeeded, he leaned back on the sofa and sighed in disappointment.

"Old Ji, that's all old stuff. Husband, if you want to reminisce about the past, we can do it later. First, get your son out of here!" Wei Manli glared at Ji Yinhe and pulled her husband's hand to get the mobile phone on the coffee table. "Call, quick! Ah He, persuade your father!"

Gong Chenggong pulled his arm back fiercely, staring at Ji Yinhe and said, "Isn't your father already aware of this day for me?"

Ji Yinhe didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Really not!"

"Alright, let's get down to business!" Tang Ci interrupted Gong Chenggong and Wei Manli, who were both holding onto their mobile phones. "Mr. Gong, did you know that your son was selling the synthetic drug 'Red Dragon' through your Chenggong Porcelain business and the Rongshu Lane warehouse?"

"...What?" Gong Chenggong finally came to his senses, his face full of surprise. "This worthless kid... could do such a thing?"

Everyone: “…………” They’re really not his biological children?!

In fact, Gong Xie was not Gong Chenggong's blood relative. The letter that appeared in his study was the result of a private detective investigation he had commissioned after hearing the rumors.

After being cuckolded for so many years and raising someone else's son, Long Aotian felt completely humiliated, but he also wanted to maintain his precarious male dignity.

It was impossible to admit it publicly, and after Wei Manli's tearful request, he agreed to continue supporting Gong Xie and let him serve as the sales manager of Chenggong Ceramics.

But he secretly swore that he would never pay any more attention to this brat.

Whether Gong Xie is out there messing around or living a life of debauchery... as long as he doesn't cheat under the company's name, he won't take it to heart.

Even though he had just heard that he was trafficking drugs, Gong Chenggong thought he was just distributing drugs with his friends.

Who would have thought that he was so bold as to use the company's products and warehouses to sell cocaine!

Tang Ci patiently recounted the case briefly and asked them if they knew Qi Hang and Lin Fei.

"I don't know any of them." Gong Chenggong was filled with regret for being soft-hearted and shook his head.

Tang Ci cast an inquiring look at the two people beside him.

Gong He didn't answer directly. He lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before asking, "Hasn't that warehouse in Rongshu Lane been abandoned for a long time?"

"Why isn't anyone using it?! That's where we found boxes of drugs!" Cui Bin clapped his hands. "Not only that, we also discovered a murder case, and we suspect it's related to Gong Xie!"

"Impossible! My son would not kill anyone! Didn't that guy hire a lawyer before? Let's hire one for our son too!" Wei Manli's eyes were filled with anger. She ignored Gong He's attempts to stop her and patted her husband's shoulder heavily.

Ji Yinhe looked at the strong muscle outline under the thin fabric of her pajamas and narrowed his eyes slightly.

That night at the crime scene, she and Ye Qing judged based on the injuries of the deceased that the murderer was very strong enough to hold the young Qi Hang hostage, so they speculated that the murderer was a man.

But she missed one point: women who have a habit of exercising can be no worse than men with just a little skill.

Could it be that the one who killed Qi Hang was Wei Manli?

Ji Yinhe kept his eyes fixed on the woman, trying to find new flaws.

At this moment, Gong Chenggong stood up and showed the courage of Long Aotian.

"There's no need to discuss this tonight. Regardless of whether Gong Xie committed murder or drug trafficking, this matter already concerns the reputation of my Chenggong Porcelain Industry. Wait for my lawyer."

Tang Ci and Cui Bin exchanged helpless glances and said, "Retreat."

Everyone filed out of the villa. Ji Yinhe followed the group for a few steps, then suddenly turned around and called out softly, "Uncle Gong."

Gong Chenggong looked at the familiar face, and his anger faded a lot. "What's wrong?"

"My father mentioned you." Ji Yinhe smiled slightly, trying not to show any abnormality. "He said that you and your wife like to collect watches."

"Yeah, it's amazing that he still remembers it." A hint of sadness crossed Gong Chenggong's face. "My first watch was given to me by Tianxin. Later, I became friends with Manli because we both fell in love with the same watch in Hong Kong... Would you like to take a look at my watch cabinet?"

"Sister Ji..." Everyone had already gotten on the bus. Xiao Wu, who was the last one left, called out softly, but was immediately interrupted by Lu Zheng who came over.

"Go ahead, we'll be waiting for you outside."

Ji Yinhe looked at Lu Zheng's gentle and determined eyes, and nodded with a look of relief.

She took a deep breath and followed Gong Chenggong into the study under Wei Manli's unhappy gaze.

Wei Manli must be someone who likes sunbathing and outdoor sports very much. There is an obvious white watch mark on her left wrist. Judging from the shape, the dial of this watch is round, about the size of a one-yuan coin.

But when he was following her two days ago, Ji Yinhe remembered clearly that what flashed across her wrist was a gold bracelet.

Why would someone who has been wearing a watch all year round suddenly change to a bracelet?

Could it be because she left traces at the crime scene that are difficult to erase?

With a try-it-out mentality, Ji Yinhe's eyes wandered over the watch cabinet and locked onto a silver Rolex with a dark cowhide strap!

"Uncle Gong, this watch looks great!"

"You have good taste! This Swiss Rolex is a token of love I gave to Tianxin. Later, Manli liked it, so I gave it to her." Gong Chenggong fell into memories of the past. "Shall I take it out and show it to you?"

"Great!" Ji Yinhe nodded with a smile.

*

The Santana of Team 3 had already driven out of Jinghu Villa, leaving only the big jeep parked on the side of the road.

Tang Ci poked his head out from the driver's seat and waved to Xiao Wu.

"What's going on?" he asked anxiously, "Why hasn't Xiao Ji come down yet?"

Xiao Wu looked towards the door in embarrassment. Lu Zheng was still standing there calmly gazing at the starry sky.

"Well, Teacher Lu told us not to rush and wait a little longer."

Tang Ci glanced at his watch and unbuckled his seat belt. "This family is not normal. I'm going to go up and bring her down—"

At the door of the villa, a tall figure ran out quickly and stuffed the thing in his hand into Lu Zheng's palm.

Tang Ci quickly pulled everyone into the car.

"Wei Manli's watch wasn't stolen. I borrowed it from Gong Chenggong on an excuse." Ji Yinhe slumped down in the back seat, panting. "I found... bloodstains in the gap of the watch strap!"

*

The next day, in the city bureau's autopsy room.

"Unfortunately, the blood on this watchband is from type AB blood, which doesn't match the deceased's type O." Ye Qing handed the report to Tang Ci. "However, I asked a friend at the People's Hospital, and the records there show that Wei Manli and Gong Xie had type B blood. So the blood on the watchband is neither from the deceased nor from Wei Manli herself."

“…”

Tang Ci flipped the thin report over and over with great force, frowning as he read every word on it.

Cheng Mo said, "Could it be the blood of someone else in the Gong family?"

"It's hard to say." Tang Ci recalled what happened last night, "No one had any obvious injuries."

"...Could it be Lin Fei?" Ji Yinhe murmured. "Last night, when I asked them if they knew Qi Hang and Lin Fei, only Gong Chenggong answered the question. Gong Xie also said that Lin Fei had run away a long time ago, disappeared without a trace just like Qi Hang - maybe she was also killed?"

Everyone looked at Ji Yinhe and didn't speak for a while.

"Captain Tang, I want to test the waters with Wei Manli and Gong Chenggong!" Ji Yinhe said seriously, "I can use the excuse of returning the watch as a pretext—"

"No, it's too dangerous." Tang Ci shook his head. "Also, your assumptions about Lin Fei are too arbitrary. Xiao Ji, your intuition is indeed very accurate, but you can't take too big a step. Maybe she is fine and just left Handong to develop somewhere else?"

"You're right..." Ji Yinhe didn't argue, but slowly repeated Tang Ci's words, "I have to find out first if this is Lin Fei's blood..."

She turned back to her office and stood in front of the blackboard thinking for a moment.

The look on Gong He's face, hesitant to speak, appeared in his mind when he was questioned at Jinghu Villa in the early morning.

Comrade Xiao Ji snapped his fingers and grabbed Lu Zheng who had just walked in.

"If Mr. Lu is free, please accompany me to find Gong He!"

*

"...What brings you to me again?"

In the office of the vice president of Chenggong Ceramics, Gong He, dressed in a suit, drank tea elegantly, without any trace of fatigue on his face.

Ji Yinhe glanced at the crutch placed beside the table.

"Nothing. Last night, after I got home, I told my dad about you...you were not feeling well, and he was really concerned about you."

Gong He's sharp brows relaxed slightly, "Thank you for your concern, Uncle Ji. I'm fine."

"Will you be able to walk... without a cane in the future?"

Gong He smiled bitterly and shook his head.

He put down his teacup and sighed. "When I was little, every time I rode in Uncle Ji's car, he would treat me toffee. Back then, my mom was gone, and my dad was busy courting Aunt Wei. I thought Uncle Ji was the best man in the world. He said that when I grew up, I could learn to drive from him, and I could go as far as the world allowed... But now, without my crutches, I can't even walk a single step..."

Ji Yinhe sighed, "Is it an accident, or..."

"...There's no need to tell you and Uncle Ji about this."

Ji Yinhe said hurriedly, "I don't mean anything else. This Lu Zheng next to me is an expert from the provincial department, and he's very knowledgeable about traceology. I heard that you've been searching for clues near the horse farm for a while now... If you have any questions about the accident, maybe Teacher Lu can help."

It turned out that they had called him here as a bargaining chip. Lu Zheng glanced at her with a hint of amusement and showed his ID to Gong He. "Well, I'm in the technical investigation department of the provincial department. I sometimes give lectures at the Public Security Bureau. You should be able to find my name."

Gong He clasped their fingers together and stared at her and Lu Zheng for two seconds.

"Officers, I don't think you're here just to reminisce. If you have any questions, please ask." He paused. "I'll tell you everything I can."

"Lin Fei." Ji Yinhe immediately said the name, "You know her, right?"

"Yes." Gong He made no secret of it. "My brother's ex-girlfriend, also a salesperson employed by the ceramics factory... My father didn't lie to you last night. There are so many people in the company, especially since she's at the grassroots level, it's normal that he doesn't know her... What happened to her?"

"He disappeared, just like Qi Hang. He disappeared without a trace."

Gong He tapped his finger on the table and asked, "What can I do for you?"

Ji Yinhe leaned forward and asked, "If she was an employee of the ceramics factory, you must still have her personnel file and medical examination form, right?"

Gong He raised his hand and picked up the phone on the table, dialed the number and gave a few instructions.

Two minutes later, the staff knocked on the office door and brought in a dusty file box.

Ji Yinhe took it and opened it, and quickly found Lin Fei's physical examination form among a pile of yellowed forms.

In the blood type column, two letters were clearly written.

——AB.